


Summer is Colder Here

by Bazoops



Category: The Wilds (TV 2020)
Genre: Dot Campbell (The Wilds), F/F, F/M, F/M tagged because it is a temporary portion of the plot, Fatin Jadmani (The Wilds), Gretchen Klein (The Wilds), Leah Rilke (The Wilds), Martha Blackburn (The Wilds), Nora Reid (The Wilds), Rachel Reid (The Wilds), Shelby Goodkind (The Wilds), Toni Shalifoe (The Wilds)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:46:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28373370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bazoops/pseuds/Bazoops
Summary: AU. Instead of sending Shelby on “the retreat” the Goodkinds decide a proper solution to her recent incident will be to send her to Minnesota where she can spend the summer with her Grandparents reconnecting to her roots and her values.
Relationships: Shelby Goodkind/Toni Shalifoe
Comments: 3
Kudos: 58





	Summer is Colder Here

Andrew’s hand is heavy in mine. I suppose that is a good thing. Like a weight keeping me from floating away.

Well I guess that is kind of what I’m doing regardless of his hand or not.

Floating.

Does everybody float? Dive so deep below the sound and the physical in their own thoughts? It should be concerning, sitting here in this movie with him but not really _being_.

“God, this movie blows.”

That’s an interesting take on The Revenant. Contrary to the popular belief of the stranger, who has been making hot takes since the auditorium dimmed, the movie has excellent reviews. Or so says Rotten Tomatoes. Then again, critics can come in many shapes and sizes.

“It’s like, slap Leo in a movie and I’m supposed to be alright with the fact that it feels like it’s five hours long?”

“Dude,” their counterpart interjects, somehow amused by the interruptions, “this is why I can’t take you anywhere.”

“You didn’t take me here. I brought you, ‘member? I was pretty suave about it.”

The weight is gone from my hand. Andrew huffs.

“Great,” he huffs. “These fucking dykes are gonna ruin the movie.”

It’s such an ugly word. He shouldn’t use derogatory terms. But he does.

“You shouldn’t say that.”

It sounds confrontational but it’s true.

“What, you’re defending them? You should know better than anybody else, Shelbs. That way of life is a fucking sin. They shouldn’t be broadcasting that shit.”

I don’t even want to bother arguing with him about it at this point. But I won’t just sit and listen to him.

“I’m gonna go to the bathroom.”

Walking down the illuminated steps in a movie theatre is a bit of a trip, isn’t it? Despite the surround sound of whatever plays, it’s like you always get up during a quiet enough moment that your steps resonate.

I brush past the aisle where the two girls are sitting. I shouldn’t look but I do. They’re not holding hands, they’re just existing in the same space. The previous critic of the film must feel a pair of eyes on her because she looks up at me. I must look odd, having stopped to observe them for a moment.

Her lip twitches slightly.

It makes sense, I think, to feel sheepish when you’re the one who stopped at the aisle in the first place. Turning my heel, I continue making my way down the last few steps and down the hall of the exit ramp.

It’s cool that theatres have ramps and steps. Accessibility is progressive.

I’m just distracting myself at this point. Of course accessibility is very cool but am I floating again?

Yes.

That girl. She looked to be right around my own age, maybe.

The door to the restroom is creaky when it opens. It’s louder than usual because nobody goes to the restroom in the middle of a movie. Well, nobody except people who can drink really fast. Gotta love forty-two ounce cups of Coca-Cola.

Isn’t it funny how the mirrors in public restrooms can be so different? Like, one has the perfect lighting for a mirror picture and the next for a mug shot.

My phone buzzes in my pocket. It’s probably my mother.

It’s probably not Becca.

A quick check and of course it’s her. She’s a great friend, despite every reason I’ve given her not to be. I’m surprised to see the simple words “can we talk. please?”

But I am not willing to go down that road right now. Not when it’s already enough of a battle to hold my own damn boyfriends hand. Not when my own father can barely look me in the eye. Still.

I turn off my phone. I should have done it at the start of the movie but despite my own turmoil, I hoped she would reach out. I hoped that even though I knew I wouldn’t be able to send anything back, she would still be waiting to hear me out.

Maybe I should call an Uber and just go home. I’ve got one more day before the pageant. One more week before my parents send me off to stay with my grandparents for the summer. Dad hadn’t phrased it as a punishment. But I got the message loud and clear.

Andrew probably wouldn’t even care, at this point. I don’t even care.

My phone is heavy in my hands too. Maybe everything is just heavy right now.

I feel pretty dumb for turning on my phone immediately after turning it off.

**Author's Note:**

> Oof sorry if this is rough. I wrote this first chapter in a little under an hour because I couldn’t get this pairing out of my head.


End file.
